Poetica

Hello again digital journal. I've been busy. Don't ever let me co-write, musical direct choreograph and act in a show again. Please. Oh, and make sure I get this teacher certification thing finished while you're at it.

I am in desperate need of some writing time. My poor novel has been mid edit for months. I'm afraid I'll loose my gift if I don't keep the pen whetted so to speak. Aye me, but the children take the life out of me.

I have a meeting coming up with a executive leader of the theater ministry I'm involved in. I know what you're thinking if you don't know about Verve, a ministry? Yes, it's a branch of my church that does awesome drama. Musicals, comedies, you name it. We don't do Christmas and Easter shows. We do shows that are family friendly and present them free to the public, pulling our own weight and money for sets, tech, advertising, etc. It's part of what attracted me to this particular church and I've been involved for about four years or so.

After being involved for a little while, the leader (not the one I'm going to meet with, he was more of an under leader) decided he was burned out and quit. Enter my husband and I who he thought would do well leading the group. Well, we're not the most organized people, but we have a passion for theater and know how to execute creative ideas. In the time we led it, we produced a small musical review for a charity function and a full length musical-Little Women. Then we got the call into the executive leader's office and were basically told we suck as leaders and they were forming a new group. Now, this guy loves organization and we don't always fit that mold, as I mentioned. I'll own up to it, it's true but um, we did produce a darn good show if I do say so myself.

Flash forward a year and a half and we're now the head of the Creative Team that chooses shows, creates original pieces and basically sets the ball in motion. We have chosen the last two plays and staged an original scripted variety show. We just finished writing another new Variety show that is pending approval by the man behind the curtain. We still suck apparently. We have a new system of forms to fill out that they let us know about after we've already dropped the ball because we didn't know about them in the first place. Basically, I'm beating my head against the wall of a ministry leader who is supposed to be support for our group. The trouble is, this man terrifies me in a way nobody has ever. I can talk to people if I have a problem but him, he's just so dang intimidating for a reason I still can't figure out. But I can hardly stand to be involved anymore with all the drama that's gone on (pun is intended). He needs to know that I feel like a bug under his foot and that is not fair. I've been so hurt guys. I've seriously cried my eyes out many times because he makes me feel like crap. So I'm trying to channel my inner Daniel and enter the lion's den unscathed.

Here's the moral of the story: Jesus is awesome and never lets me down but the church doesn't always follow suit. And by the way, the church = people.

In an effort to clear my mind from a long and taxing week and pump up my self image, how about a nice and fluffy meme that I stole from my dear friend raptorgirl. (If I wasn't too lazy to look up how you make that a link, it would already be done so don't ask.)

What fictional character do I remind you of?

I have so many things going through my mind right now so what to post? I'm sad that someone close to me had a miserable Christmas with her family. I'm happy because I spent a lot of time off from school with my wonderful husband and family and wonderful friends. I'm humbled because we received so many generous gifts even though this is supposedly a year of economic hardship. I'm excited because I have an opportunity to get my foot in the door for voice acting here in Orlando through a connection. I'm working on getting them my demo asap. I'm also more excited to write than I've been in a while because I've got fresh new ideas for my story that will make it better (as my beloved Jo March exclaims in Little Women). I've also been able to truly make the best of my time away from school by relaxing and following my creative pursuits.

I think the coming year will be another year of growth but I also think I will be stronger and more active in making my writing goals happen. I also want to grow in a lot of friendships that I have been nurturing or neglecting. Basically, I'm going to try again to live up to the person I am in Christ. Thank God for new beginnings and His perfect love.

For some reason my creative endeavors always begin late into the night. I just got crafty and decorated two headbands that are super cute. Now I wish I had more to play with. I think I'll start my own line of decorated headbands-well, at least I'll buy some more to decorate for me and my girls until my fetish is over. One has green translucent ribbon and green peacock feathers and the other is so gothic lolita! It has cream lace and two little red bows. *She all but squeaks over the cuteness*

How's that for an intellectually stimulating post? Tune in later if you want more pithyness. For now, I'm off to curl up with a book and enjoy not having to get up early and deal with 7th graders!

I hate it when I go on hiatus from the internet because I'm so swamped with school. I feel so daunted by everyone's eloquence and feel the need to write a long heroic poem about my deeds while I was away. A quick what's up will have to suffice because I notice that it is now 3:00 am and I don't want to totally wreck my sleep cycle for the rest of my vacation. If you haven't read the poem Lady of Shalott by Tennyson go do it and pretend I'm the one stuck in the tower. Then you'll know what my life has been like for the past month or so. Ah teaching in public schools.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone!

P.S. Enjoy the fun cosplay userpic. That's me getting my Sailor Venus on (thanks for the pic Nessa!). Soon I'm going to attempt making Padme's battle costume from Ep. II for an upcoming sci-fi/comic/anime con. Ahh! Must flatten abs!

Thanks so something my husband brought home from the office and a probably low immune system from my students illnesses, I am sick! Yuck. Tonselitis. Anyway, Thanksgiving was another feast from both sides of the family. My grandma's mashed potatoes with cream and celery were the best as was my mom's homemade cranberry sauce. What was your favorite T-giving dish?

As my friends and I sat munching in the food court of the mall tonight, we realized we didn't know exactly how and when the Thanksgiving holiday started. I made it my personal quest to find those answers and for the record, Wikipedia was no help. Here are my findings:

The First Thanksgiving:
Pilgrims and Wampanog Indians met together to celebrate the harvest as was traditional for both groups. That first feast lasted for three days as the Pilgrims hosted the Wampanog leader Massasoit and nearly a hundred of his men. Though the feast was plentiful, pies and mashed potatoes probably weren't on the menu. Venison, seafood, nuts, fruits and vegetables like peas and carrots were most likely present on the Pilgrim table as was wild fowl which could have included turkey.

The National Holiday:
Thanksgiving was started because of a writer! And a female writer at that!

Her name was Sarah Hale, but most recognize the name of her poem "Mary Had a Little Lamb" instead of the author herself. Looking back on the traditions of the Pilgrims, who celebrated a day of prayer and thanksgiving after a bountiful harvest, Hale published essays and wrote letters calling for a national day of thanks to the President of the United States for years. In 1863, President Lincoln looked for a way to lift America's spirit during the Civil War and took Hale's ideas to heart. He declared a national day of thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of every November.

Thanksgiving morphed into the twentieth century with new traditions like football, shopping and parades. Thanksgiving became such an integral part of the Christmas shopping season for American Businesses that in 1939, President FDR signed a bill to move Thanksgiving up a week. Many refused to change Lincoln's date and in 1941 Congress passed a bill to make Thanksgiving's official date the fourth Thursday of November.

Info from History.com.

So I've been kindly harangued into setting up a facebook account. I don't know how I'm going to keep up with it since I can barely stick with this thing without disappearing for months at a time but my husband assures me that fbook doesn't need much updating if you don't want to. Well, I'll at least make a profile so I can be found by old friends. I had an astonishing email (that word is not used nearly enough, everybody, say "astonishing" at least once today) (or sing it if you know "Little Women" the musical) from a childhood friend waiting for me in my work email this morning. She said she googled me after having a dream about me then wondering how I was doing. I wonder, did she dream me in the kid form or high school me? Anyhoo, those of you who know my real name, you may look forward to my mug of fbook soon.

In other news, I was sad to put down a book this weekend by one of my favorite authors. Now, I'm not one to stick with books I don't enjoy just because, so it's not hard for me so say "meh" and toss it back on the bookshelf. However, it was painful to make this decision for a Shannon Hale book. I love her style and so far, the five books I've read of hers have been a delight. Please do your imagination and whimsy a service and read "Goose Girl". It is up there on my tops list. But do not reach for...I must have hated it so much I forgot the name. Umm...oh yeah, "Book of a Thousand Days." It was wretched in every way. The story is bleak without a purpose. A servant who is smarter than her mistress gets treated horribly and she and her lady are enclosed in a tower because the lady disobeyed her father. What you read is a strange journal of the servant girl and her strange mistress who eventually goes nuts. It's not even an interesting nutcase like Ophelia, you just start to detest this girl. And you feel so bad for the servant girl that you can hardly stand to read. It was almost as bad as reading Faulkner for the first time. Oh my poor Shannon Hale. Please stick to non-nihilistic fiction.

Movie Review-Quantum of Solace
by Christie

One of the most enduring, action-packed franchises in all of cinema is that snappy dressed, husky-voiced James Bond. Every time a new Bond movie shoots into theaters, I get excited. In my lifetime I've watched two Bonds on the big screen: Pierce Brosnan's super-smooth playboy marksman and Daniel Craig's buff, rough around the edges double o. So far, I like Craig's portrayal of the vulnerable beginnings of Bond. "Casino Royale" was my favorite Bond movie to date. Unfortunately, "Quantum of Solace" doesn't live up to its high-stakes predecessor.

This is the first sequel of the Bond films. Whispers of Vesper and the tragic betrayal of "Casino Royale" permeate the story. It's strange to hear Bond lamenting over a woman, but this film also sets up the callous Bond that we've seen in later years. In "Solace," Bond still hasn't shut off his emotions. He carries the wounds with him every time he takes a punch, makes a shot or jumps out of a burning building.

Yes, the action is non-stop. Like the beginning of "Casino," we're treated to a long fight that sweeps through an exotic location as fast as Bond's gunshots. In "Solace," Bond leaves a longer trail of bodies and he's chastised by MI6 for his recklessness. Bond leads an edge-of-your-seat boat chase in the blue of the Caribbean in classic style and eventually finds his way into other explosive situations. The locations in this Bond are even more exotic to the eye and cinematically gorgeous as well. It's too bad some of them get caught in Bond's wave of destruction.

Like previous 007 films, I expected Solace to have a twisted, convoluted plot that unraveled only after I'd seen the film several times. I enjoyed the cloying mystery of putting all the pieces together. "Solace" however delivers a straight forward, somewhat predictable plot that felt like bits and pieces from Bond's diary. The scenes are brief and don't feel as if they connect. There is no clear plot line to follow, only a series of fight scenes and brief encounters with new characters that don't amount to much in the end. It feels hollow, as if we just got a taste of Bond's latest exploits and not a full-length documentary. Neither Bond nor the main female character Cami have a clear purpose and for that, the entire film suffers. I left feeling like I saw a popcorn action flick, not the intellectually engaging Bond mystique that I'm used to.

After watching "Solace," it's clear that Bond films don't work as sequels. They should be episodic and linked only by the ever sassy M and her most dashing agent. Bond is unpredictable and thrilling when he has no ties to the past. Hopefully, we'll see more of that 007 in the future.

As I write this I'm looking out over Spencer's shoulder at the traffic in downtown Miami. We took our second annual pilgrimage to the Miami Book Fair (and yes J and J, I bought you an early release copy of "Phantom Dream")since we are a loving family of bibliophiles. It's interesting that we all tend to spread out like the kids in Willy Wonka's factory and head towards our literary dish of choice. Dad likes non-fiction: pseudo political commentary and business; Ann likes anything how-to (she bought a "Florida Birds" book and a "Sewing Bible" so far)or design oriented. I imagine she takes all these thick books to work since she's an architect. I certainly don't know how she finds room for them at home. Spencer likes a strange hodgepodge of history, mystery, comics and his latest hobby, cake decorating. He imagines himself as a part of the Ace of Cakes team and it's quite cute. Me, I picked up a lovely little book about women writers in medieval times and almost took a volume about female troubadors too. (Someday I'm going to get a masters in crusty old literature.) I'm on the hunt for a complete version of the Count of Monte Cristo but I only found an abridged version so far.

After we split from Dad and Ann, Spencer and I navigated an endless maze of humans who seemed to have a condition that inhibited their walking straight and common sense brain cells. This went on throughout the day until I was ready to beat on the next person who walked in front of me and stopped. But I digress, there are far more important things to relate.

We listened to children's author Jon Schziezka (sorry I know I spelled that wrong and I'm too lazy to check the guidebook) who wrote "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs", "The Stinky Cheese Man" and the series "The Time Warp Trio" regale us with tales of his racous childhood with five other brothers.

Next, we trooped over to a lovely old building from the 1920s with marble stairs and carved centerpieces over the elevators and listened to the far more humble Jeff Kinney. Kinney recently found himself famous for writing "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (which is a fabulous part comic-part novel romp through middle school life). If you have reluctant readers in your life or need to give a young cousin or sibling a Christmas present, this is the book. There are two in the series so far and a do-it-yourself journal. His talk was great and a lot of what he related gave me comfort as an hopeful author. Some of his early book signings were just him and his agent so he was shocked to see about three hundred of us waiting to hear his stories. He signed a print out I brought of the book cover for my classes. They're going to flip out! Half of my first period has read his book during our silent reading time.

We ended the day just trolling the endless booths of used books, new books, fair food, book publishers, religious literature and the occasional plant nursery. Ah, what a day. I'm exhausted and I'm ready to go out for Cuban food.

I've come to the conclusion that single people and married people have very different views about what's best for the country among my group of friends. Financial issues mean something totally different when you don't live on your own it seems. I've also been very surprised by some friends' choices. What it really comes down to is that our system is broken and we need more than 2 candidates. I like a buffet and more competition. Obviously the parties are in pretty bad shape if all they can muster is a very senior citizen and someone who's incredibly wet behind the ears. Anyways, enough about politics, I'm sick of them and can't wait to do the ballot thing and move on.

And why is everyone so obsessed with Nanoramo? It seems to be a livejournal epidemic. Maybe I'm just mad because I don't think there's any way I'll have time to do this seeing as all my weekends from here to Thanksgiving are completely booked. I'm going to the Miami Book Fair so that ought to be a valid excuse! I'm going to mingle with the literary world instead of writing in an isolate place. Okay I'll stop making excuses and just say Good Luck everyone!

In other news, I planted an herb garden today-finally! Now I can look forward to fresh mint, cilantro, parsley, basil and rosemary-and so can anyone who eats my cooking. Mmmmm. Yay for God's green earth!

This has been a very introspective year for me. It seems that every time I have a moment to think I'm assessing myself in some sense. Am I doing well enough at my job, am I working on my writing enough (the answer is almost always a resounding no), am I being a good friend/wife, am I focusing on my faith daily, etc... Maybe I'm having a quarter life crisis. It's just that time between growing into an adulthood life with a career and a family and leaving behind young adulthood. In some ways I've felt the shock of being late in my twenties and not accomplishing the change the world miracles I felt sure I would before I set off for college. Does that mean my life isn't making a difference? No, I constantly tell myself. But I don't always believe my self pep talks and then again, my ten year high school reunion is coming up and I really need to have something great under my belt. I'm thinking National Novel Writing Month would be a good thing to shock my creative juices into rhythm. Linguistic defibrillator: clear!

Ah the trials of being alone when your husband is on a business trip. Here is what occurred in my exciting life tonight. While aimlessly wandering the shelves at Publix, I found myself faced with a choice-dumplings from the sushi counter? I look in the box and I see one microscopic packet of soy sauce. Then I think about the taste of dumpling dipping sauce that usually comes gratis at the Asian restaurant. The man behind the counter asks if I need anything and I mumble "no thanks, I'm just deciding." He politely smiles and nods and goes back to cleaning up the day's fish scales and ice. I look again at the doll-sized soy packet and put down the dumplings. They're just not the same without the sauce and besides, I have food I can make at home. Then I go buy some coffee ice cream.

Sigh. Usually I want time for myself but I find I'm very restless these past two nights. Maybe its the fact that I'm in a zombie-like state after teaching my two hardest classes for three hours straight and then going to class to be droned at about assessment strategies. At least I could snuggle into my comfy robe, eat ice cream and watch anime. Oh, and thanks to my new editor, I thought about a great revision for my story!

Lastly, I saw The Duchess this weekend and as my lack of energy permits me from writing an eloquent and sassy review I will take a cue from another lj reviewer I've seen lately and make a list. Here goes:

1. The movie seemed as if it would be a juicy, seductive period piece from the previews but alas, it was more of a cathartic essay on the social injustices of married women in the 18th century.
2. The costumes made me drool and I have yet to figure out how she would get in and out of her dresses with no laces or zipper. Hmmmm. Not quite accurate. Obviously there was a hidden zipper. I'm not sure why I'm obsessing over this.
3. Kiera Knightly is just such a darn good actress. She has the best pout.
4. She had all these dainty ribbon necklaces that I am now inspired to make.
5. The music was enchanting with a score by Rachel Portman who also did my fav Chocolate.
6. Though not lighthearted in the least or even super romantic, this film is entertaining to watch however, I think I could have waited for the DVD.
7. If you're a sucker for a period piece, you will probably like it-if not, skip it.

A day of wanting human companionship but finding none has led me to various places in the livejournal world. I've had an epiphany through these virtual wanderings though; there are a lot of people out there who can express themselves very eloquently in writing. I am not part of a small group of people who consider themselves writers and I am certainly not among the top as far as the most talented. However, I do realize that this doesn't mean I'm not talented I just need to work on writing economically-that is saying more with carefully chosen words. I realize I need to refine my voice and work on having that quirky, likeable tone that seems to be prevalent on the digital parchment of the day. This scribe has got some growing to do!

It is a time of unrest. War with the separatist force that threatens the daily lives of every citizen in the republic has brought economic hardships and emotional strain. Many out for their own profit threaten the stability of the established system. As the government continues to turn a blind eye to the growing weight of its own power, those chosen to keep the peace and balance are pulled into the struggle, leaving the average citizen powerless against a changing world.

This is a summary of the Star Wars Clone Wars era that leads up to Episodes Three and Four. Or is it our own time? You tell me.

Maybe society really does perpetuate its own myth cycle or destruction and rebirth. (What can I say guys, sometimes I'm deep. Let's talk about Plato's cave next! My intellectual palate is salivating already.)

Another Jewish holiday off from school and hardly anything accomplished. Ah, I'm not upset. I've had a very laid back day and that's great. I'm about to start writing so that will make it productive.

I'm in the mood to see a good movie-haven't seen one in a while. I love period flicks so I might go see The Dutches soon. (Check back for a review) I've noticed that a lot of good movies are coming out on DVD lately. I'm going to have a long list for Christmas.

I'm so in the mood for hangout time. I feel like I've been a recluse lately or that my friends are too busy too. I'm getting bored of the routine of just going to work, coming home and cooking dinner, washing dishes, then going to sleep and doing it all over again. I feel like Uo from Fruits Basket shouting "Call me darnit!"

I'm in restless mode again. Not knowing what I need or want to accomplish. I'm going to stop writing now because this journal post is quite blah.

Borrowed from nessabutterfly

* Grab the nearest book.
* Open the book to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

"Bill Walsh's charmingly titled book "Lapsing into a Comma" (Walsh is a copy desk chief at "The Washington Post") explains that while many American newspapers prefer "Connors' forehand", his own preference is for "Connors's forehand" - "and I'm happy to be working for a newspaper that feels the same way I do".

From Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss; a delightful little book about punctuation that is actually quite hilarious. (Okay maybe only for me or similar English-lit minded folks)

Before this lengthy quote the page actually gave some wonderful information about apostrophes that I was quite unaware of. In the case of plurals, Jesus is always an exception.

After a weekend of doing nothing much except eating and sleeping, I'm ready to take on another 4 day week. (Thank God for Jewish holidays in public schools!) I'm actually excited to start the upcoming novel we're going to focus on. (The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi) I have some ideas for fun activities. Man I'm a stinking roller coaster when it comes to my job. Be forewarned if you're considering teaching. Mood swings ahead! (It's just like you said J-chan!)

On a side note, I got rejected from the freelance writing bit but I can reapply with different writing samples. I think what I sent was too opinion based and they didn't want that-but I saw other reviews on the site that were more or less what I sent so whatever. I'll try again with more meaty articles. It just means I have to take more time to write something that is not going to be posted. Sigh.

P.S. I love visiting family. We always come home with lots of good food. Gram raided her extremely well-stocked pantry for me and now I have an excellent bottle of wine, cans of stewed tomatoes for cooking and a couple of cans of soup. From Dad and Ann came ribs, Asian salad and brownies and from Grandma Hudon came tea, apples, brown sugar and English muffins. Mmmmm. Life is good.

My poor husband. It seems like all I do lately is rant in the kitchen about how much my job sucks and how much I feel like I suck as I bang pots around. Why am I so disheartened by teaching? I started thinking I could make a difference and that I'd take any challenge head on. Now I'm so beaten down just by the daily routine and everything I have to think about that it's all I can do to keep myself from having a mental breakdown. At least I don't teach in my old hometown. They cut teacher's salaries there by 1%. I think I'd quit. That's just a slap in the face. When is the last time any profession had somebody step up and take away from something that's barely enough compensation anyway? Maybe a CEO who already makes 20 million. Okay I know you're thinking 1% that hardly sounds like anything but honestly, that's like saying hey, why aren't you continuing to give over 100 percent effort when we keep cutting budgets, tightening requirements and pumping up class sizes? When was the last time a football player was penalized for doing what they were supposed to do? Maybe even trying to defeat a difficult opponent with lots of practice and physical exhaustion? Exactly. Never in a million years. But teachers? They don't do anything. Take some of their pay away.

Sorry journal. I'm just a mess lately. I'm going to switch over to word now so I can start writing my escape plan.

Oh and in other news, I found this website called Suite101 that publishes articles about nearly any topic imaginable. They pay freelance writers to write for the site. I sent in my application yesterday. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I can make some extra dough and get more writing experience/exposure.